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Questions & Answers about Dia kembali bekerja di kantor.
Does the word dia mean “he” or “she”? How do I specify gender?
Dia is gender-neutral and can mean “he” or “she.” To be explicit, add context:
- For a male: Dia (laki-laki/pria) kembali bekerja di kantor.
- For a female: Dia (perempuan/wanita) kembali bekerja di kantor.
- You can also use a name or job title, or the respectful pronoun beliau for someone you respect (e.g., a boss): Beliau kembali bekerja di kantor.
What tense is this? Is it past, present, or future?
Indonesian verbs don’t change form for tense. Context or time words show time. Examples:
- Past/has already: Dia sudah/telah kembali bekerja di kantor.
- Just now/recently: Dia baru kembali bekerja di kantor.
- Present (general): Dia kembali bekerja di kantor (sekarang).
- Future: Dia akan kembali bekerja di kantor (besok/mulai Senin).
What does kembali mean here?
Kembali can mean “again” or “back.” In Dia kembali bekerja di kantor, it means “(has) started working again” or “is back to working” at the office (resuming an activity).
What’s the difference between kembali bekerja di kantor and kembali ke kantor?
- kembali bekerja di kantor = resuming the activity of working (and the place is the office).
- kembali ke kantor = physically going back to the office (movement), not necessarily implying working again. Both can be true at the same time, but they focus on different things (activity vs. movement).
Can I use lagi instead of kembali? What about balik or pulang?
- lagi is very common and more casual for “again”: Dia bekerja lagi di kantor.
- kembali is a bit more formal: Dia kembali bekerja di kantor.
- balik is colloquial “go back/return” for movement: Dia balik ke kantor. As “resume work,” people say balik kerja in casual speech, but kembali bekerja is the safer standard.
- pulang means “go home,” not “return (to office).” Don’t use it here.
Can I say bekerja kembali or bekerja lagi? Is the word order flexible?
Yes:
- Standard/formal: Dia kembali bekerja di kantor.
- Also fine: Dia bekerja kembali di kantor (more formal/written feel).
- Very common casual: Dia bekerja lagi di kantor. Note: kembali is typically before the verb; lagi is usually after the verb.
Why is it di kantor and not ke kantor or dari kantor?
- di = at/in (location): di kantor = “at the office.”
- ke = to/towards (movement): ke kantor = “to the office.”
- dari = from (source): dari kantor = “from the office.” If you mean “work at the office,” use di. If you mean “go back to the office,” use ke: Dia kembali ke kantor.
Is di here the passive prefix di-?
No. Here di is a separate preposition meaning “at/in,” written separately from the noun: di kantor. The passive prefix di- attaches to verbs (e.g., dipukul) and is written together with the verb.
Why bekerja and not just kerja?
- bekerja (ber- + kerja) is the standard/politer verb “to work.”
- In everyday speech, kerja can function as a verb: Dia kerja lagi di kantor. Both are understood; bekerja is more formal/neutral.
Is Dia kembali di kantor correct for “He/She is back at the office”?
It’s better to say:
- Dia sudah kembali ke kantor. (He/She has gone back to the office.)
- Dia sudah di kantor lagi. (He/She is at the office again.) Using kembali di is uncommon; pair kembali with ke for movement, or use lagi/sudah with di for location.
How do I say “at his/her office” or “at my office”?
- “at his/her office”: di kantornya
- “at my office”: di kantor saya
- “at our office”: di kantor kami/kita (kami = excluding the listener; kita = including the listener)
How do I say “He/She hasn’t returned to work at the office yet”?
Use belum (“not yet”):
- Dia belum kembali bekerja di kantor.
How do I show the ongoing/progressive meaning, like “is working again at the office (right now)”?
Use sedang (“currently”) with lagi:
- Dia sedang bekerja lagi di kantor.
Using sedang kembali bekerja sounds awkward; prefer sedang
- bekerja lagi.
Any pronunciation tips for this sentence?
- Dia: “dee-ah” (two syllables).
- kembali: the first e is a schwa (like “uh”): kəm-BA-li; stress is light and not phonemic.
- bekerja: bə-KER-ja; j like English “j,” r is tapped/flapped.
- di kantor: “dee KAN-tor”; vowels are pure; r tapped.